If I am pulling out of a parking spot and I hit the curb does that make me a bad driver?

ol boi j

i have a eagle talon and i hit curbs every day. i'm the greatest driver in the world!

Jazzy, I Miss U Love!

Not necessarily bad, but inexperienced.

the Boss

Well, of course you should try to not have any 'incidents' when you drive. I wouldn't say you're a bad driver though. I would say you need more practice and you should try to be more careful.

HappyNow...

At the moment, you are a novice, so don't fret.

You didn't run off the road, or into a ditch, you simply clipped a curb.

Ask your friends Dad what skeletons he's hiding in the closet...

Irie

Just be careful, and remember that driving is a continual learning process, you get better over the years but you are never perfect.

The Mr. Pine

That does not make you a bad driver. Don't damage anyone's landscape though. I'm sure you will be ok in the future.

diva

logicalsong

You're fine...everyone hits the curb sometime.

But in my case, I hit the SAME DARN CURB every day. Does that make me a obsessive/compulsive bad driver?

jannyt22

I've been driving for 10 years and I still hurt curbs from time to time. It happens.

Now, if you're backing up and you hit a person then yes that makes you a bad driver.

Honey Pot

that is so cruel...your just learning...it's not like you hit and run...

yidlmama

I don't think it makes you a BAD driver, you just need more practice. Next time...if you are unsure of how your car is positioned, use all of your mirrors and you could actually lean out your window a little and look down to the ground....this will help you decide where you are and where you need to go.
The dad is concerned, because there are so many car accidents for young people. He just wants his kid to be safe in a car. I am sure that him just being in the car made you feel a little more nervous. Try not to take it too personal, don't hold it against your friend. Once you have a little more experience, take him for another spin...this way you can show him you are getting better.

Please try to pratice more on your parking and driving skill, if behind your car is a kid and not the curb, he'll be dead by now. this is not to said you're bad, but try to improve and prevent it from happen.

Someguyperson

Yes.

pintobns

NO, you are not a bad driver. You are a LEARNING driver. The more you drive and practice, the better you will get. Even experienced drivers hit curbs. I've been driving 23 years and I still hit one once in a while. I am an excellent driver with nothing at all on my record.

Judging distance and feeling the proximity you have to other objects takes time. And it is always better to hit a curb than to take out a car. If you are ever unsure of distance to another vehicle, tree or house or whatever, pick the curb. Err on the side of feeling silly for running over the curb...

Her dad was mean and inconsiderate in his statement. He knows you are new at this chore and he knows you will get better. Instead of later belittling you for this, he should have taken the opportunity and offered some suggestions or direction to help you at the time.Don't feel discouraged because of this.

As for your friend not being allowed to ride with you, I don't know what to say. I think he's being unreasonable, but in the same respect he's being protective. Unreasonable because it's not like you had a wreck, protective because he doesn't want her to get hurt. I have a teenage daughter who is only a couple of months from getting her permanent license. Personally, I do not want her riding around with more than one friend in the car. I say this because when a person is learning, distractions can be dangerous. Just one person in the car is not as distracting as 5 kids who are more likely to be rambunctious. Just give it some time and, as he sees your skills are improving, he will relax some. Meantime, work on building your skills and proving him wrong.

Don't do anything that takes your hands off the wheel or your eyes off the road...no eating, no cell phones, no reading, no taking notes. Drive. Simply Drive.

cs

Chick-A- Deedle

You aren't a bad driver, you just lack confidence. Good driving comes in time to some people but if you take me as an example, some folks just never find a car that's user friendly!! I'm almost 40 and I hit stuff all the time. I did $1500 worth of damage to my husbands truck hitting a concrete pylon at the Krystal drive thru.

A few years back I bent the entire wheel and flattened the tire on my car. They had to drill out the lugs to get the tire off it was bent that bad! I've backed into telephone poles, side swiped my car against a pine tree in the woods (don't ask!), I've driven over a spike strip going into a parking garage the wrong way, I've clipped two toll booths and my grand glory was the stock car I rolled nose over *** end three times. I even went airborne with that one!! Of course I flipped it because I lost control of the car and when it went into the ditch it had one of those huge concrete drain pipes...going about 70 MPH. Whenever we take road trips my husband won't let me drive. We went to NewYork two years ago and he did the whole drive himself (from south Georgia...18 hours)because he just knew a concrete curb was going to jump out in front of the car in the middle of the Blue Ridge parkway. Concrete in any of it's various forms is my main nemesis when I'm driving!! It's just because the concrete doesn't have legs and can't run.

If I put a tick mark on my car for every orange construction cone I've hit, my car would be covered in them, I've even plowed over those little reflector posts they put on the highway to let you know the road is about to merge. Tell your friend's dad that *I* am out there with two tons of screaming Chevy Blazer death too...he'll be happy that I don't live in the same town as him and you are a hell of a lot better on the road than probably half the adults out there on the highways.

When I backed sideways into the pine tree a few years ago I had a friend with me (he was also with me when I bent the wheel hitting the little concrete pylon on the way into a state park) he screamed, "You are the WORST driver in the world!!" and he swore he would never get into the car with me again. He didn't. Riding with me is like a first class ticket on the vomit comet...and I've been driving for over 20 years. I also failed my drivers test twice.

Two weeks with a license and one incident hitting the curb isn't quite enough to warrant calling you a bad driver.

Sounds like they were bad at the parking that forced you to have to back up and manouver in the first place. Just tell them you aren't a bad driver and that they need to go back to driving school to learn how to park properly.

HAHA!!

2shay

most women (NOT ALL) have a hard time backing up. I won't say your bad, you just need more practice.

I suggest going into an empty parking lot on a sunday afternoon when the places are closed. and using ONLY YOUR MIRRORS back up into the empty parking spaces. this way you will be able to judge your vehcile for now on.

You can also do this by getting some empty soda bottles and placing them in various spots around the parking spaces so you will know how close you can get. If you knock one over than try again.

As far as your friends dad, give it time and then maybe ask him if you can drive her again, even offer to take him for a spin so he can see how good you are.

bostonianinmo

Yep. You're really not ready to be driving unsupervised yet. Get some more instruction from a qualified instructor.

You should not be hitting anything -- curbs, cars, or otherwise. I have to agree with your friend's father. I wouldn't let my kids ride with you either.

mightymite

Duh you are horrible geez even my 78 year old grandma has better eye-coordination geez

lepninja

Just because you got your license recently is no excuse for not having complete control over your vehicle.

If you can avoid stationary objects like curbs at low speeds, how will you handle an emergency like if a car in front of you blows a tire or slides in bad weather?

For everyone who keeps telling you it's ok because you're still learning - that should have happened during DRIVER'S ED on a LEARNER'S PERMIT.
Now that your on the road alone you should be better than that. Just because you managed to pass your test doesn't make you a competent driver.

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